Distortionary Taxation and Optimal Public Spending on Productive Activities

Using a general‐equilibrium model with endogenous factor supplies, this article investigates the provision of factor‐augmenting public inputs. Such inputs are intermediate goods that affect production functions in a collective manner and give rise to increasing returns. Unlike with collective consumption goods, deviation from the first‐best condition for a public input is inappropriate if taxes are set optimally. When taxes are not optimal, a second‐best rule must include a feedback effect on revenue as well as the deadweight cost of taxes. Implications for benefit‐cost analysis and for interpretation of estimates of the social returns to public capital are explored.     

波斯与云南回族的“万有单一论”哲学

波斯伊斯兰文化在中国伊斯兰文化结构中占据着重要的一面,其中的苏非主义哲学,对中国回族穆斯林哲学思想产生了重要影响.本文在系统分析明清之际中国回族穆斯林知识分子发起的"以儒诠经"的文化运动及其代表性人物刘智、马注、马德新哲学思想中的苏非主义因素的基础上,提出了云南马注、马德新的伊斯兰哲学中充满了波斯苏非的"万有单一论"思想,他们的"万有单一论"哲学,在中国回族社会的传播中,作出了特别的贡献.云南是苏非哲学与中国儒家哲学融合与传播的重要中心.     

Cultural similarities and differences in the semantic dimensions of body postures

We report two studies that examine how differences in social structure between the American and Japanese cultures manifest themselves in differences in the interpretation of body postures. In Study 1, 145 American undergraduates rated 37 posture expressions, using Kudoh and Matsumoto's (1985) semantic differential rating scale. In Study 2, 148 American undergraduates and 150 Japanese undergraduates rated 37 posture expressions, using Mehrabian's (1972) semantic differential rating scale. Factor analysis of the data from both studies indicated a reversal of the primary factors used by the cultures to interpret postures. For the Japanese, judgments were primarily influenced by issues concerning status and power; for the Americans, ratings were primarily influenced by interpersonal responsiveness issues, such as like-dislike judgments. There were also differences in the types of postures indicative of the different factors between the Americans and the Japanese, which were also related to differences in social structure. These differences were discussed in terms of the vertical-horizontal conceptualization of social structure offered by Nakane (1970).David Matsumoto was supported by an American Psychological Association Minority Fellowship under Clinical Training Grant 5 T01 MH13833 from the National Institute of Mental Health, and by a Regents Fellowship and a Chancellor's Patent Fund Award for Research from the University of California at Berkeley.     

The Opportunity Cost of Pro-Environmental Activities: Spending Time to Promote the Environment

This study examines how working hours and the opportunity cost of time affect an individual’s decision to participate in a time-consuming pro-environmental activity—namely, the purchase of refillable products—while using data from the Japanese General Social Survey 2002. By purchasing refillable products, an individual can reduce the amount of waste that needs to be disposed; however, she or he must spend time refilling bottles (i.e., a pro-environmental activity). Our empirical results demonstrate that individuals who work long hours and those with high wage rates tend to purchase nonrefillable products. Therefore, both time constraints and the opportunity cost of time are important factors in the decision to undertake pro-environmental activities.     

Dutasteride improves bone mineral density in male patients with lower urinary tract symptoms and prostatic enlargement: a preliminary study

Introduction: We studied the effect of dutasteride on bone mineral density (BMD) in aging male patients with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and prostatic enlargement.

Methods: We prospectively studied 17 patients with LUTS and prostatic enlargement. Before and 1 year after dutasteride (0.5?mg daily), we assessed International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), prostatic volume (PV), serum prostatic-specific antigen (PSA) and testosterone. BMD in the lumbar and femur was measured by DEXA method.

Results: Dutasteride significantly reduced PV (from 51?±?24 to 34?±?17?ml, p?p?p?2, p?2, p?2, p?Conclusions: Dutasteride has a potential to improve BMD with elevation of serum testosterone in aging male patients with LUTS and prostatic enlargement.     

马复初哲学中的“全体大用”探析

马复初（德新）是明清时期“以儒诠经”的回族穆斯林经师之一,他不仅继承了王岱舆、马注、刘智的哲学传统,而且结合其游学天方伊斯兰世界获得的最新成果,把这场“回儒对话”推到了一个崭新高度。马复初哲学思想中的“全体大用”借用朱熹的概念,但与宋明理学认知宇宙本质的直观知识之认识有所不同,被赋予了伊斯兰教天堂和后世的理性。     

Egg cluster size variation in relation to the larval food abundance inLuehdorfia puziloi (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae)

Summary Mean egg cluster size ofLuehdorfia puziloi yessoensis varied among habitats. The mean egg cluster size tended to be large when abundance of the larval food leaves expressed as the fresh weight of leaves per unit area at a given habitat was high. Since this variation was observed among closely located study plots (butterflies can easily move between study plots), the egg cluster size variation among habitats is likely to be a result of flexible response by females to varying food abundance for larvae.     

Elite mobility and continuity during a regime change

How does a regime change influence elite mobility? By collecting data on elites after the Meiji Restoration in Japan in 1868, through which Japan transitioned from a feudal regime to a modern regime, we provide new evidence that the impact of the regime change on elite mobility varies across the stages of the regime change. We analyze the impact of the regime change from two aspects: (1) the composition of elites or elite membership and (2) the internal hierarchy within them. The regime change opened an opportunity for commoners to join the elite group. After the Meiji Restoration, the share of elites whose fathers were commoners in the former regime increased, as did the influence of meritocracy on elite ranks. However, once the new regime was established, the elite hierarchy started to reflect the social stratum of the former regime and the influence of meritocracy declined.